An inter-dimensional portal, a security guard and his similarly aged son, a fugitive jelly baby and a cage of hamsters. Welcome to The House of Anomolous. Written and performed by Jamie Robertson, Jason Geary and Dom Phelan, this show is a peculiar mix of Science Fiction, surrealism and sitcom.
There were a lot of ideas crammed into the show, so a degree of focused attention was required by the audience to keep track of all that was happening. A lack of which that befell my companion who emerged after the hour at a loss as to what the story was all about. Most of the characters were given minimal back story of which was revealed fleetingly during the dialogue. Missing any of this information could seriously affect the audience’s empathy towards the characters, possibly finding them annoying rather than amusing.
The action often went back to the hamster cage which was an interesting subplot that inserted some poignant moments to the story causing the laughs to drop off. Despite involving the amusing concept of talking hamsters, this was an interesting way to provide a reprieve from the wacky goings on elsewhere in the show.
The performers were clearly enjoying themselves on stage. This trod the fine line between self indulgence and enthusiasm. As the season progresses, I’m sure they will be able to remain focused enough not to let this hamper the audience’s enjoyment. They threw themselves into the multiple roles they inhabited with gusto to create some wonderfully off the wall characters. A personal highlight was the disembodied head who was leader of “The Hand”, portrayed as a cross between a cartoon Nazi and a bureaucrat. The fugitive jelly baby came a close second, providing the opportunity to make plenty of amusingly dodgy puns.
Low budget props and scenery were used to great effect. The large number of costume changes resulted in characters still adorned in part of another’s gear which added a certain clunky charm to proceedings. The depiction of a car chase was particularly well done using various toys.
The House of Anomolous was a fantastically silly show. Those expecting a highly polished show may feel let down, but if you are willing to suspend your disbelief you will have a wonderful time.
For booking details and full details see the “Fringe Website”:http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/season/2007/show/148/